• Morocco room rates boosted by tourist activity
  • Kuwait performance mostly flat
  • Nigeria hotel performance improves alongside oil output

LONDON – Hotels in the Middle East reported negative Q2 2018 performance results, while hotels in Africa posted growth across the three key performance metrics, according to data from STR.

U.S. dollar constant currency, Q2 2018 vs. Q2 2017

Middle East

  • Occupancy: -3.5% to 60.2%
  • Average daily rate (ADR): -5.8% to US$159.13
  • Revenue per available room (RevPAR): -9.1% to US$95.73

Africa

  • Occupancy: +5.1% to 56.3%
  • Average daily rate (ADR): +6.6% to US$113.71
  • Revenue per available room (RevPAR): +12.0% to US$63.97

Local currency, Q2 2018 vs. Q2 2017

Morocco

  • Occupancy: -1.4% to 56.8%
  • ADR: +24.1% to MAD1,305.26
  • RevPAR: +22.4% to MAD741.37

STR analysts attribute Morocco's strong growth in ADR and RevPAR to multiple events that stimulated the tourism economy in the country as well as the usual boost in demand (room nights sold) that occurs after Ramadan. The 22.4% jump in RevPAR was especially notable given that RevPAR increased 15.7% during Q2 2017.

Kuwait

  • Occupancy: -0.9% to 52.7%
  • ADR: -1.6% to KWD63.29
  • RevPAR: -2.5% to KWD33.36

Kuwait received a lift in demand during Eid al-Fitr like most countries in the region, according to STR analysts. However, the country's absolute RevPAR levels have remained low since the drop in oil prices and subsequent lower occupancy levels.

Nigeria

  • Occupancy: +10.9% to 49.4%
  • ADR: +9.9% to NGN52,094.78
  • RevPAR: +21.9% to NGN25,727.02

STR analysts point to the correlation in oil prices and Nigeria's tourism industry as a reason behind the country's hotel performance growth. The 49.4% absolute occupancy level was the highest for a Q2 in the country since 2014.

About STR

STR provides premium data benchmarking, analytics and marketplace insights for the global hospitality industry. Founded in 1985, STR maintains a presence in 15 countries with a corporate North American headquarters in Hendersonville, Tennessee, an international headquarters in London, and an Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore. STR was acquired in October 2019 by CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSGP), the leading provider of commercial real estate information, analytics and online marketplaces. For more information, please visit str.com and costargroup.com.

Alex Anstett
Media & Communications Coordinator - STR
STR